Back on the clock: Sports radio ratings dip again in June Arbitrons

I’m back after taking vacation time during the first two weeks in July, so we’ll be catching up this week on assorted topics, including the ongoing CSN Houston situation.

A lot of you, meanwhile, apparently decided to continue your vacation from listening to Houston sports radio — specifically, to KILT (610 AM) — during June.

Arbitron’s Houston ratio ratings for June once again reflect the inescapable degree to which Houston sports fans are driven by football and, apparently, little else. KILT, as the Texans flagship station, benefits during the good times, as reflected by its 4.6 percent weeklong audience share among men 25-54, the key demo for sports radio, in January, when the Texans were in the midst of their brief playoff run. In June, KILT dropped to a 1.3 share — down by 72 percent from the first of the year.

One interesting element is that KILT’s two primary competitors — KBME (790 AM) and KFNC (97.5 FM) — are almost even with their January weeklong numbers. KFNC also had a 1.3 share in the 6 a.m.-to-midnight Monday-through-Sunday numbers for June in men 25-54, and KBME had a 1.0 share. Both of the latter stations had a 1.4 share in January.

One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the three stations — the fourth all-sports station, KGOW (1560 AM), doesn’t register in the ratings — have essentially the same number of core listeners and that KILT’s Texans affiliation is the only thing that keeps it in the lead during football season. That may be a bit of a reach; KFNC probably benefited from ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage in June, and KBME may get a slight bump from its Astros games, but there’s no question that there’s more of a neck-and-neck race among listeners during non-football months than there was even a year ago.

Now the question is whether KILT will retain its huge lead once training camp hits in August and the season begins in September or whether we will return to the pedestrian sports radio numbers that characterized the market until the Texans galvanized audiences to switch to KILT during their initial playoff run in 2011.

KFNC”s strongest daypart during June was morning drive (6-10 a.m.), with a 2.3 percent audience share among men 25-54 to 1.6 for KILT and 1.3 for KBME. Univision’s KLTN (102.9 FM) was in first place with a gargantuan 14.7 share, followed by KBXX (97.9 FM), KTBZ (94.5 FM), KKBQ (92.9 FM) and KMJQ (102.1 FM).

In middays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), it was KILT at 1.5, KBME at 1.1 and KFNC at 0.9. In afternoon drive time, which has been KILT’s highest-ranking daypart this year, KILT’s lead has shrunk dramatically to a 2.0 share to 1.8 for KFNC and 1.4 for KBME. KILT at 1.0 leads KBME by a tenth of a point from 7 p.m. to midnight with KFNC at 0.8. KLTN leads all stations in men 25-54 in middays and drive time, and KBXX is No. 1 in the demo after 7 p.m. KBXX, KTBZ, KKBQ and KTJM/KJOJ round out the top five in afternoon drive; KLTN at 10.1 leads the weeklong numbers for men 25-54, followed by KBXX, KTBZ, KKBQ and KGLK (107.5 FM)/KHPT (106.9 FM).

So what’s the deal? Are you turned out on sports radio in general these days? Do you expect ratings to spike upward again once the NFL season rolls around?